Rose Weasley and a Certain Notebook
by Smooth Stone
Summary: ***This story has multiple chapters, they are just typed in.*** This is a continuation of the Harry Potters. It's in the perspective of Rose Weasley. It involves secret friendships and figuring out her parents story. Keep in mind that none of the Weasley or Potter kids know about their parents' adventures.


Rose Weasley and a Certain Notebook

Chapter 1: The Journey

"Look who it is,"

Every one of them looked the way Ron looked, finding themselves eye to eye with Draco Malfoy. He looked the same as he always had: white-blonde hair, a pointed chin with the hint of a new beard. Harry, Ron, and Hermione could not contain their scowls, even in front of their own children. The last encounter between the four of them was not a good memory. The weight of it all pulled their gazes from him, but not in time to miss a smaller figure emerge from behind the man. The boy seemed to be Draco's double, disturbingly the same age as two of the Weasley/Potter's own clan.

"So that's little Scorpius, is it?" said Ron, "Make sure to beat him in every test, Rosie. Thank God you inherited your mother's brains."

Rose Weasley only nodded, busy taking in the scene. Even for growing up in a wizarding family, walking through walls was an amazing feat. And before her sat a train the size of her house and more. She was so amazed, she barely made out the words of her father, something about beating a scorpion in exams? She caught herself giggling. Her father could be almost mad on some occasions.

Someone in the distance called for the children to board. Rose felt herself being engulfed in hug, feeling the warmth of someone who could only be her mother.

"Oh, Rosie!" Hermione exclaimed, "I can't believe it, you're going to Hogwarts already! You must write every week, you know I must know everything, we'll miss you so..."

"Mum," Rose groaned. It was her first day, she couldn't have people staring. "Fine, ok? I'll write, don't worry." The train whistle blew again, and her cousins looked at her eagerly. "I love you, Mum, and you too, Dad." she blew them a kiss, as she'd seen the Muggles doing earlier, and boarded. Her cousin Lily, still too young for Hogwarts, cried, and her mum and aunt yelled their final goodbyes, promising to see them at Chistmastime.

Rose wanted, desperately, to keep that moment. The closing door interrupted her thoughts, and she turned her back to all things normal, knowing she was about to face extraordinary.

But, for now, facing her cousins would have to do.

"Where to sit?" Rose wondered aloud. Her older cousin, a fourth-year named James, snickered.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I've got a compartment," He snorted as he walked off.

"Oh, gee, thanks," her younger cousin, Albus, muttered to himself as they walked off in the opposite direction. Albus was going to be a first-year, just as Rose was. They were inexperienced on the express, but, just as their parents had assured them, there was an empty compartment towards the back of the train. They scurried in before someone else saw it.

"What house d'ya think you'll be sorted in, Al?" Rose pondered, trying to make conversation in the nervous silence that threatened to settle in between them. Albus countinued the silence, deep in thought.

"Well, my dad told me not to worry, you know, they're all supposed to be good. But I'd choose Gryffindor. I'd like to be with you, though, to have a friend. That means Ravenclaw for sure," He replyed.

"Oh, I don't know," Rose said, "My mum had twice the brains I have when she was this age, and she was a Gryffindor. And we'd better be glad she was, or else we wouldn't have this family..." she trailed off, noticing Albus wasn't listening, but staring out the window with a nervous look spread across his face. Rose dropped her attempt at conversation, and left herself to her own thoughts.

"Anything off the trolley, dears?" At fat old witch with a sizeable candy cart peeked her face into their quiet compartment, scaring them both into jumping. Rose proceeded to the hallway to get them both sweets. She found a small line consisting of one fairly familier person, though she couldn't grasp where she'd seen him before. She stood behind him, nodding her hello.

"A licorice wand, thanks," he murmered, looking down at the knut in his hand like it was the most interesting thing in the world. The lady gingerly handed it to him.

"Nothing else? Not for a friend?" She was so happily clueless, not noticing the uncomfortable look that had landed on the pale boy's face. Pale and blonde. Rose was certain she'd seen him before.

"I'm, uh," the boy looked around, trying to be saved from the question. Rose jumped to his rescue before she gave it any thought.

"He's with me, I just wanted to pay," she said. The boy gave her a thankful look as he ran off. "Two chocolate frogs and some Bertie Bott's, please." The lady handed her the candy, buying Rose's acting like Rose bought her candy. Rose left her with a couple knuts as she walked back into her compartment. She tossed Albus a frog without a thought and divided up the beans.

"Rose, look," Albus exclaimed, "I've got Dumbledore! He's my namesake, you know." He triumphantly held up the card that came from his chocolate frog package, and, sure enough, Albus Dumbledore waved back at her. She smiled weakly. How lucky Albus was, with the name of such a famous wizard. Albus Dumbledore, perhaps the greatest and most famous Hogwarts headmaster besides the origanal four themselves. At the mention of his name, peoples thoughts were driven to a man full of "whimsey and knowledge," as her Mum put it. At the mention of Rose's name, peoples thoughts were driven to flowers, and a weasel if you threw in her last name as well. Flowers were fine, she figured, but a weasel?

Weasley, her surname, wasn't something she particularly favored about herself. Nothing special, imperfect even. The name Potter, James and Albus' surname, barely held up to it. Such ordinary, dull names.

She was startled as Albus began to cough wildly. He managed to choke out something about a pepper-flavored bean, and Rose giggled.

"You're name may be Albus, but you're no Dumbledore," she snickered as he bit into a liver-flavored bean and almost vomited onto his lap. His face became pale and he pushed his beans towards Rose.

Her thoughts returned to the pale boy. Why had he been alone? He certainly wasn't joking. He'd even looked a little distant. A mystery, of sorts. She secretly hoped to be sorted into his house, just for that purpose. From what she'd heard from her parents, Hogwarts was, indeed, a school for learning, but there were some things you had to figure out for yourself.

Chapter 2: The Sorting

Rose steadied herself, trying not to fall form the boat as she craned her neck above the heads of her shipmates. Two boats over, Albus sat in front with a perfect view of the castle. Rose, on the other hand, was stuck in the back of the boat, crowded with all of the tallest first-years. Everyone was looking over each other, trying to get at least a peek of their new home. It was like being in a boat full of giraffes. This, unfortunently, made for a shaky boat, on the verge of falling into the grasp of the rumored giant squid.

Finally, she saw it. The huge castle made it's way into her view, absolutely spectacular. Towers taller than the Hogwarts Express stacked upon itself three times, maybe four. Thousands of windows, all lit as if to say, "Welcome home."

She began to tremble with excitment, but the boat went instantly still. All of their faces were awestruck. It was as if their bodies had gone speechless. It stayed like that, completely silent, until she felt her boat hit land. A giant man, by the name of Hagrid, led them inside. Rose's parents had arranged for her and Al to meet him in Diagon alley while school shopping, so they were already aquainted. He winked at Rose as she scurried to find Albus.

When she found him, she could tell that they shared the same thoughts: fear. They were about to be sorted, their lives for the next seven years depended on this moment. This would impact them forever. _This is it._

They were stopped at a huge set of double doors, undoubtidly the entrance to the Great Hall. Behind the closed doors were hundreds of eager voices. Knowing it was impossible, Rose tried to listen for James' voice. As she expected, she couldn't pull it aside from the other voices.

Suddenly, a middle-aged women in sapphire robes appeared before them, smiling.

"Good evening," she greeted them all, "My name is Professor Tirbend. I will be your Professor of Astronomy in your later classes. Now, in a moment, I will open the doors behind me and we will all proceed into the Great Hall to be sorted into your houses. There are four possible houses to be sorted into: Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin. Once you are sorted, you will proceed to your house table. There will be no switching.

"You must be loyal to your house. It will act as your Hogwarts family for the next several years. You will help your house by earning points, but any rule breaking will lose your house points. At the end of every year, the house with the most points will be awarded the House Cup, an extreme honor.

"Let me just add that this is a good year to be at Hogwarts. I'm not allowed to say much, but I will say this; in a couple years we will celebrate a monumental anniversary. We will even be getting some new coarse material. I do hope you find it interesting." With that, she waved her wand at the doors, and they flew open.

Rose's stomach ached in anticipation. She could barely concentrate on the beauty of the room. The ceiling, if it was even there, was bewitched to show the sky as it was now: cloudless and starry. The interior of the room was gold, candles floating above them, spakling gold plates resting on four long tables. There was not a scrap of food in sight. Students chatted with each other, resting their elbows against the tables. A banner hung over each table, distinguishing the house tables from each other. And, in the back of the room, a couple steps higher than the other tables, was the staff table, facing them. Sitting at it, too many professors to count. Only two stuck out at her.

One was her uncle Neville. Neville wasn't really her uncle, as Harry was, but a very close friend to her parents. He was the Herbology professor at Hogwarts, as well as the head of Gryffindor house. He grinned at Rose and Albus. They could barely find the strength to return it.

The other was the headmistress, Professor McKarthy. She sat at the head of the table, wearing emerald robes and a pointed wizards hat. She looked down at them with kind eyes. She seemed to barely aknowledge the hat on her plate. It was a ragged old thing, looking as though it could fall apart at any second. It had several patches and re-stichings, as if it had gone through a battle of sorts. Rose vaguly wondered what happened to it.

Professor Tirbend stopped and cleared her throat. "When I call your name, please step up and I will place the sorting hat on your head." She moved away so everyone had a clear view of the hat. It was as if they were expecting something from it. Rose barely had time to worry that it may jump on her head before it burst into song.

_"Though we have been through the worst_

_The beast is yet to come,_

_It's up to me to find the path_

_In which you're coming from._

_Could it be the scarlet sand_

_In which the lion lies?_

_For Gryffindor, oh brave and true_

_Could use some worthy eyes._

_Could it be the bright blue skies_

_In which the raven soars?_

_For Ravenclaw, oh wise and witty_

_Has widely open doors._

_Could it be the deep brown earth_

_In which the badger races?_

_For Hufflepuff, oh kind and loyal_

_Could use new smiling faces._

_Could it be the vast green waters_

_In which the serpent swims?_

_For Slytherin, oh sly and cunning_

_Knows he always wins._

_Your mind is mine_

_The world is yours_

_And now's the time to start._

_Now put me on_

_And I will tell you_

_Where to place your heart."_

The room roared in applause. This was evidently a Hogwarts tradition. Rose clapped as well. It took several minutes to settle the room down, but the attention was finally focused on Professor Tirbend, who had congered a scroll from thin air. It floated in front of her as she gently lifted the sorting hat from the plate.

"Arbeck, Justin!"

A small, terrified boy scurried up the stairs and carefully took the hat from Professor Tirbend and crossed his fingers.

"HUFFLEPUFF!" shouted the hat.

The boy looked relieved and ran over to one of the middle tables. A girl who must've been his sister gave him a pat on the back as he sat down.

"Asbarren, Janice!"

A taller, slightly round girl walked up to the hat and jammed it onto her head.

"RAVENCLAW!"

She gleefully skipped to the other middle table.

The sorting went on like that, Rose eagerly waiting her turn with the others. She watched as Victorie, her friend and the daughter of the Herbology professer, was sorted into Gryffindor. The tables were filling fast. She watched as, one by one, people tried to squeeze in, wondering which table she would go to. Every so often, she would glance at the blonde boy, waiting for his name to be called. Every mystery began with a name.

"Malfoy, Scorpius!"

The blonde boy, Scorpius, walked up to the hat. Rose's heart sank a little lower. She was almost sure she'd never heard that name before. The surname, maybe. But that meant she was even farther from understanding.

She waited for the hat to call his house, but it didn't. Scorpius began to sweat. The students began to murmur in question. It was several minutes before the hat made a sound.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The boy, Scorpius, looked terrified. The color that had remained in his face was now drained. His hands balled up into fists. He looked close to tears. He kept the hat on his head, as if he expected it to change it's mind. Professor Tirbend lifted it from his head. He looked at her, pleading, but she only shook her head. He slowly made his way to the far right table. There was a snort from the far left table, the Slytherin table, and Rose glanced over to see an older girl looking straight at Scorpius with a death stare. Her message was plain and clear: _I'm telling._

Now _this _was a mystery. She barely had time to think before:

"Potter, Albus!"

She gave Albus' hand a reassuring squeeze as he nervously walked up to the hat. The room began too get slightly chatty again once Albus' name was called. _Probably just people getting anxious, _Rose thought, _myself included._ A couple people actually started pointing as the hat settled on his head. Rose thought of how she'd stood up for Scorpius Malfoy, whom she'd known as a complete stranger at the time. She had an impulse to stand up for Al, but was overcome with stage fright. His face was pained, and he was there longer than most, but certainly not as long as Scorpius Malfoy. The room quieted as the hat stirred, something very odd in Rose's mind. If they were anxious beyond containment, why try to hold it in for one word? One could always see which way he went afterwards.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Albus relaxed in absolute relief as he made his way to the far right table. He gingerly planted himself between James and Scorpius, who looked immediently uneasy. Rose silently wondered why.

"Weasley, Rosalind!"

Recognition sunk in. After watching so many others walk up with ease, she was rooted to the spot. Somehow, she made her way up, as if floating. Her hands began to tremble. _Stay calm, stay calm. _The world went black, and Rose suppressed a scream. It was only the hat. _Only the hat. Only the hat._

_"Ah, one interesting mind with one certainly interesting family," _a cold voise rang in her ears. Her head clouded with questions. Was that the hat? What happened to the cheery voice from the song? What was it talking about? How was her family 'interesting?'

_"My job isn't a need of yours_," the cold voice hissed_, "Destiny has chosen for you_." Rose didn't understand. Wasn't it supposed to think before it decided?

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The feeling automaticly came back to her face, her hands, her feet. She ran to the Gryffindor table and collapsed next to Albus. She was full of relief, but in it's midst, confusion. Her family... What did her family have to do with anything? How was her destiny already chosen? She didn't understand...

"Rose," Albus nudged her, snapping her back into reality, "Rose, we've done it! We're Gryffindors now!" Rose looked at him, his innocent grin, and something in her cousin's expression whisked away every ounce of ugly thought inside of Rose, and all she could do was grin back at him.

All of a sudden, there was food. The once bare plates were now heaping with foods from lands near and far. Foods Rose had only heard of, foods Rose had never heard of. Rose dug in, forgetting all in the world but happiness.

Chapter 3: The Howler

The next morning, Rose hurried down to breakfast in her brand-new robes and scarlet-orange tie. She had her nose stuck in her coarse schedule, only trying to get a glimpse of what she was going to experience. History of Magic and Transfiguration, Charms and Astronomy, Potions and Herbology, Defense Against the Dark Arts. So many classes with so many things to learn, and this was only a taste of it! The secrets this castle held, she knew she'd never grasp.

There was a slight commotion, and Rose looked up only to get caught marveling at a new sight. Hundreds of owls flooded the room, fluttering across the sky-blue ceiling. Some held letters in their beaks, others struggled with parcels. Owls of all colors and sizes. She'd never seen so many at once.

She felt something on her head and gasped. Pigwidgeon, her father's owl, had come from no where. He dropped a letter on her toast and began to nibble a roll, hooting in approval. Rose ignored him as she ripped open the letter.

_Dear Rosie,_

_Uncle Harry recieved an owl from Albus last night. He could barely contain himself when he told us the news. Gryffindors! Congradulations. All of us here are so proud._

_Life at home is so very strange without your bright and smiling face, and it's only been a day! We all miss you, but we wish you the best of luck this term. I do hope you're having fun. Isn't magic wonderful? I knew from the moment you bought your wand that you would love it. Why else would it tickle Mr. Ollivander into confirming it's choice? You're going to be an extraordinary witch, I know it!_

_Study hard! Tell us all about it, we're dying to know! And say hello to Neville for us!_

_Love from,_

_Mum_

Rose beamed. She had to agree with her mum, she already loved magic. Even though she missed her family dearly, she knew she would have a good time here. She tucked her letter in her robes and was about the offer Albus a roll when there was a sudden yelp.

Scorpius Malfoy sat a few seats away, looking horrifyed. Rose reconginzed the red envelope the sat in front of him almost immediently: it was a Howler.

_"Scorpius Lucius Malfoy! How dare you betray your family? Ariana told me all about it, she did, all about the sorting! A Gryffindor! I spit at you! When is the last time you checked your blood? It was pure, as I recall. You are in a strict Slytherin family, and you know that! You have caused your family dishonor of immense proportions! You should be ashamed!"_

With that, the Howler exploded in the boy's face. For a moment, Scorpius looked as if he were going to vomit, but he got over the urge and burst into tears. Almost everyone in the Great Hall was staring, and that girl, who _must _be Ariana, burst into laughter. Scorpius whipped his head around at her, and looked as if he were about to scream in her face, but just kept crying.

"He was crying in the dormintory last night," Albus whispered, "He wouldn't let anyone talk to him, he just pulled his curtains and sniffed. Figures, he's in one of those Slytherin families. I should've guessed." Rose nodded, looking down at her nails, debating what to say.

"His mum was very harsh, sending him a Howler," she whispered back, "I remember, when I was very little, my mum got one. She was crying in her room for days. Everytime I asked her what was wrong, she would just say something about a mistake. I ended up going to Grandpa Weasley's, you remember? You and James were there. Your parents were helping my mum, and..." she trailed off, trying to remember. "Something about St. Mungo's, visiting or something." she murmured, more to herself than Albus, who was just staring.

"I never thought there was any trouble involved," he said, shaking his head, "I thought we were just visiting. I never suspected anything going on..." he drifted off, still staring at Rose with a bewildered look on his face. "Has anything else like that ever happened? You can always talk to me about it. We're family."

Rose shook her head, nervously chewing her bacon. She couldn't bring herself to tell Al about the numerous visits to St. Mungo's her parents had made, he'd just become worried. She's never even shared that memory before, not even with Hugo, her own brother, who been watching their parents go to St. Mungo's since he was born. All her life, she'd been wishing for knowledge, for some light to be shed on the mysterious subject. Her parents, and Al's, for that matter, always seemed... _different. _But, that couldn't be right. They were normal wizards. They had to be.

Something in her gut told her that she was wrong, and she'd have to figure this out by herself. She glanced at Scorpius Malfoy, still in tears. Rose sighed in defeat. _You're mystery will have to wait, _she thought.

Chapter 4, Year 5: The Parchment

Rose sat in the highest room in the Burrow, besides the attic. This had been where her father had slept in his youth. The walls were plastered with posters supporting Gryffindor and an old quidditch team called the Chudley Cannons. The whole family was staying at the Burrow for the summer holidays: she and Hugo, James, Albus and Lily, Helena (her uncle Bill and aunt Fleur's daughter, who went to Beaxbatonnes) and her parents, her uncle Charlie, and even uncle George would stop by after work to drive his mother bonkers. They had all been assigned to rooms when they'd arrived a week and a half ago, and this one had been previously deemed "too dirty for occupation" by her grandma. Rose was supposed to be in her aunt Ginny's old room with Lily, Helena, and Fleur, but she found ways to hide herself up here. This way, she could have privacy and an excellent view of the entryway. Every night, she saw her aunt Ginny come home in her Healer robes. She was working tremendous hours now, as if the hot July weather made more and more people sick.

Rose sighed. Her parents had been gone for over a week now. If they didn't hurry, they would miss Rose's fifthteenth birthday, and maybe even Al's. Her's was in two days, Al's in two weeks. She'd been trying to get to the bottom of their mysterious outings since her first year, with no luck. They'd been coming and going at the same rate as they had always been. It was like, one day, they were cheery and normal at home, and the next, gone. Still, they had never been gone a whole week.

To make matters worse, Hugo had been asking questions more frequently now, and Albus had been sending her looks. He undoubtably remembered what she had told him in their first year. Sometimes, she felt guilty about not telling him everything, but she couldn't bring herself to. She'd only ever told one person.

_Speaking of that person..._

Rose's new owl, Kalapati, hooted softly from her cage, eager to get out. Kalapati had been an early birthday present from her grandparents, so she could communicate with her best friend, Victorie. Indeed, she did use Kalapati to talk to Victorie, but also, someone else. Their friendship wasn't a complete secret, only towards her family. Although, some people probably didn't think of it as a friendship, just a pair of aquaintences, nothing harmful.

She quietly slid into her father's old desk and pulled three pieces of parchment from the drawer she'd secretly been restocking since she'd arrived. She addressed the first to Victorie, in reply to her last letter. It wasn't particularly lengthly, just covering the usual topics (school, family, summer travels, meeting somewhere, and, yes, boys.) She imagined Victorie's reactions to things she'd said and couldn't help but smile as she played the conversation back in her head. Besides Albus, Victorie was the person she turned to when she needed to laugh. You could always count on her.

_Creeeeek._

Rose jumped at the sudden sound of the old door, wand in hand, only to find herself staring at Albus. He raised his eyebrows as Rose slowly lowered her wand.

"Speak of the devil," he said, strolling in. Rose scowled, annoyed with the sudden interruption.

"Close the door," She ordered, arms crossed, "and _no _ginger jokes." He chuckled as he cautiously closed the door, but lowered his voice, respecting her desire for privacy. But Rose didn't let her guard down easily.

"How long've you known?" she questioned suspisiously. Albus mimicked her expression, and soon they were in a stare down.

"Long enough," he replyed, studying the room and Rose's poor attempt to tidy it. "May I ask why?"

Rose sighed. "I needed some privacy, there are so many of us here." she paused, knowing Albus didn't buy it. "Well, that and... I needed to avoid Hugo. I can't answer his questions, not with my sucky observations. He's only going into his second year, he's so young. The last thing that happened that gave me any information was before he was born. Is old information still credible?"

Albus shrugged, his eyes falling on the parchment. "Who're you writing to?"

Rose was careful, but ended up dropping her gaze. "Victorie, mostly. And..." she paused, considering. In the end, her willpower fractured. She needed to tell him _something. _"Well, I figured, owls are smart. So maybe, they can help me track down my parents, and get some answers. We, us and Hugo, I mean, deserve some answers. James and Lily, too, your parents are involved. I know your mum's at work, but your dad...?"

Albus spread himself out on the bed. "You got me there. If he were working, he'd be coming home, at least to see my mum. And if he were hunting again, he would tell us. He's an Auror, he knows the risks. He'd tell us. You know that, your father's one, too." Rose nodded. "He'll be with your parents. They've always been close." There was a crash from one of the downstairs floors, followed by commotion. "That'll be James testing out that thing uncle George gave him," he sighed, "I'd better go help clean up. See you."

"Knock next time," Rose warned, but her message was clear. If he kept her secret, he could come back.

Once he was gone, Rose turned back to the parchment. Thankfully, Al had only noticed two of the three sheets. She was, indeed, writing to her parents, but someone else first. _That_ someone, the secret friend. Checking, once again, for trespassers, she dipped her pen in the ink and began:

_S,_

_They're still not back, I'm beginning to worry. This is the longest they've ever been out, beating the previous record of three days. I'm going to try writing to them, to see in Kalapati can find them. Owls are smart, I mean, she found you, right?_

_I'm really sorry your mother's been giving you a hard time. I don't care what she says, it's perfectly fine to be in Gryffindor. My father's a pure blood, and his whole family were Gryffindors. Still, she's been going on about it for an awful long time. I wish I had some words of advice for you, but I'm empty on that at the moment._

_I was thinking about friendships this morning. My father and my uncle were friends since the train ride to their first year, you know. They met my mum later that year and they became a little group. I've never really been sure how our little friendship began. I remember loaning you my potions book last year, then I began to write you notes in it. I remember the first one, asking if you were ok. We ended up finding each other to be great listeners. I find that, if someone will listen to your problems, they seem a lot less lighter. I guess as long as we have our notes, we'll be ok._

_How's your holiday been? I still cannot believe the size of my family. The fact that we all fit in this house is an amazing feat. I remember you saying something about your dad trying to lighten your mom up. Are you spending time with him? I bet you'd have great fun._

_I really hope you have a great holiday, and I hope I'll maybe see you soon!_

_Best,_

_R_

Rose read over the letter, thinking. They'd agreed to keep their notes private, mostly because some people could get the wrong idea. They were definently not in love. But also, he'd seen their parents glaring at each other on several occasions. In the trouble he was already in, they decided to not risk worsening it.

She scribbled a note to her parents, mainly consisting of questions like "Where are you?" and "What have you been doing?" and pleads for answers. She needed to know, and that was the only thing she wanted for her birthday.

She carefully folded each letter and labeled the names:

_Victorie Longbottom-Lovegood_

_Ron and Hermione Weasley_

the last one, she wrote slowly, savoring the secret.

_Scorpius Malfoy_

With that, Kalapati flew into the night.

Chapter 5: The Explanation

When Rose awoke on her fifthteenth birthday, the first things she saw were owls.

Kalapati was holding a small parcel and a letter, and an enormous screech owl held a letter. Recognizing it, Roe snatched it's letter, gave it a pat, and sent it away. She'd read it later, alone.

She pet Kalapati as she tore the other letter open. It was from Victorie, wishing her a happy birthday. The parcel held various sweets, including chocolate frogs with cards bewitched into showing Rose, herself. She giggled. Of coarse Victorie would do that.

Though it was earlier than Rose usually rose, she scurried down stairs anyway. She almost yelped with joy at the sight. Her parents were sitting at the coffee table, along with uncle Harry, looking tired. But, they were her parents, all the same.

She ran to her father and hugged him, feeling foolish and childlike but happy all the same. Her mum joined in, and all Rose could say was, "You're home. You're finally home." She'd been so worried.

She pulled away to look at all three of them. "We've been so worried, Al and I. We had no idea where you were..." She looked at her uncle Harry. "Oh, uncle Harry, Albus will be thrilled to see you. James and Lily, too, but not as mush as Al. We've been trying so hard to guess where you were, but we just couldn't." She paused, becoming a bit serious. "Where were you? We need answers. We deserve them."

They looked at each other, the three adults looking like they were having a silent chat. Finally, her father spoke:

"Get Al. We'll talk."

A couple minutes later, Rose had gotten not only Al, but aunt Ginny, much to uncle Harry's delight. They had a small reunion, Rose holding her parents hands the entire time. Her mother gave her a squeeze, whispering "Happy birthday," Rose turned to smile up at her, only to be shocked.

She hadn't gotten a good look at her mum since she'd gotten back until then. She couldn't hide her suprised, worried, scared expression. In a single week, her cheeks had hollowed, her eyes had bagged, and her skin had paled. She looked as if she'd been running across the country without food for a week. Then again, she may as well had been doing that. Rose was in the dark on that subject.

Her father, whose eyes had bagged as well, didn't look nearly as bad. She suddenly felt a strange longing to be completly in the dark, not notice any difference, not even the disappearances. It was so unlike her to not want to dig into a mystery. She felt as if it was her fifth birthday, not fifthteenth.

She sat on the couch opposite her parents, and Al joined her. Facing them were Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione. They became silent, daring each other to draw breath, until Albus finally spoke.

"Well, where've you been, then?" he was on the edge of being angry.

"Al," Rose warned, only whispering, but the whole room heard. She stared at her feet, desperately try to wipe the look from her face with no luck. Al's tone only worsened.

"What, Rose, you said it yourself, we deserve answers. I know you haven't told me everything you know, I can see it on your face. It's been aggrivating you, not just this week, but since Scorpius got that Howler..."

Rose shot him a look, as if to say _"Shut up!" _but Albus knew he'd gone to far.

"Scorpius?" Ron became on edge, too. "What's that kid got to do with anything?" Albus opened his mouth, but Rose beat him.

"You give us your answers and we give you ours," she challenged, sending a pleading look that no one could break from. She had instantly won. Ron looked at Hermione, and she nodded.

"There've been two main reasons for us leaving," he began, obviously being extremely careful with his words. "The first started when you were very little, Rosie. I take it you remember that Howler?" Rose nodded. "Yes, well, that. It was about, your, uh..." he paused to look at Hermione again, "Your grandparents. Your mothers parents." Rose's eyes widened, she had clearly not been expecting that.

Hermione countinued for Ron, "When I was seventeen, their memories were wiped. I believe it was because, um," she paused, obviously lying, but Rose didn't want to interfear. "Well, I don't remember specifically why, but their memories were wiped. Enough said.

"They moved to Australia and began a new life. They weren't aware that I was their daughter. They didn't think they had any kids. After that day, when that charm was put on them, I never saw them again. I never thought I would.

"But whoever put that charm on them, they had left a small flaw in it. My parents began to remember, piece after scattered piece. They were, indeed, scattered pieces. Random things, like they're honeymoon and, well, everything about wizardry. They even began to spread the information like gossip, until a wizard heard and stunned them. Once the stunner found out who they were, they brought them to St. Mungo's. The ministry wasn't happy with the rumors. Not at all. So, some of the time, we, the three of us, have been sorting out legal issues, and visiting my parents."

"But that's not all," Albus pryed.

"No," Ron said, "It's not. That was just in the beginning. There was something else," he looked across their couch at Ginny, "and I'm really sorry we haven't told you, sis. We were at St. Mungo's."

"Why? What's happened?" Ginny looked at Harry, as nervous as Rose.

"It was me," Hermione said softly, "I was ill. I think I contracted it from a wild herb of some kind, when I was younger. It didn't become visible to Healers until a few years ago, though. I would go to and from St. Mungo's, trying spells and potions. Nothing worked, and for years I lied, told you it was..."

"Stress," Rose said. "You were ill, and you told me you were just overly stressed."

"Yes, and I'll never live it down," Hermione countinued, "But it gradually got worse. I hid it as well as I could, until finally, last week came. They'd found a cure, thank Merlin. It just took so long to work, for a while I'd thought it had gone wrong, and I was going to get worse. But, here I sit." She smiled as if nothing had ever been wrong. As if nothing would ever be wrong again.

But that hadn't been the full truth, and Rose knew it. This was still unsettled.

Somehow, even during her birthday, Rose managed to sneak up to her father's room, this morning's unopened letter in hand. As soon as the door closed, she ripped it open and flopped on the bed to read.

_Rose,_

_Happy birthday. I'm sorry I haven't given you a present, I didn't know what to get you._

_I'm sorry about your parents' disappearence, they're ought to come back soon. I know I say that all the time, but I mean it. They will come back, I just know it. My mother seems to hate me, but she definently would. If my mother would come back, there's no doubt in my mind that your parents will come back._

_I'll try that, what you said, with my dad. It couldn't hurt. He's better then mother with that sort of thing. He was even on the quidditch team when he was in school, maybe he could teach me to play. I've head he was an excellent seeker._

_My holidays are as boring as ever, at least you've got your huge family to keep you busy. I'm stuck in my manor of a house, sitting in my room, doing homework, writing to you, and sketching. I drew a lion the other day, don't tell mother. I draw in my books so she doesn't see. I came across that potions book the other day. I think we'll need a new book, that ones almost full. You can't even read the brewing instructions anymore. We should meet up at Florish and Blott's to pick a new one, or maybe a couple new ones._

_-S_

She smiled. That book was definently full. It was funny to imagine someone so easily being able to find it, all of their notes, but nobody did. It was like it was hidden in plain sight. But, here, the book would be found in an instant. So it stayed with Scorpius.

She knew they would need to meet, but not just for choosing a book. She needed to tell him everything she'd found out today. Maybe even the obvious lies. _Lies._ She hated the concept, but she did it everyday. Like this morning, she'd never explained what Scorpius had to do with anything, and even if she had, it would've been a lie. She would never tell her parents, or Al, for that matter, about the letters and the book.

Some things just needed to be kept from people until the time was right.

Chapter 6: The Garden Statue

Rose ran down the Hogwarts corridors in a rush. She had, once again, spent the entire lunch time in oblivion. Her thoughts always drifted to the same thing: _lies._

She'd been doing that since her birthday. The explanation her mother had given her was not fully true. There were some things that she didn't want Rose and Albus to know. But the lies had been so obvious, it was as if she'd wanted them to try and guess what had really happened; who had obliviated Rose's grandparents and why, how her mum had contracted that illness. Naturally, Rose tryed to figure it out. In return, she'd been nearly late to class several times and missed every chance of talking to Scorpius. The only words she got in were written in the book, and there weren't many.

She ran into History of Magic only to be stopped in her tracks. She was not greeted by the normal unpleasancy of Professor Abrams, the scowling man who usually taught the class. She was instead greeted by a happy-looking stranger and a bored ghost. They both looked up the moment she arrived.

"Well," the cheery man greeted her, "Good afternoon, Miss...?"

"Weasley, sir." Rose said, surprising herself at the normal volume of her voice. She'd been expecting quieter. "I'm sorry I'm nearly late, sir, it won't happen again."

"Good. Have a seat, then," he said lightly. Rose ran towards Victorie in an embarassed state, dropping a book on the floor in the process. Scorpius picked it and set it with his things. He knew what to do.

The man stood up and smiled at them all. "Hello, young wizards of Gryffindor and Hufflepuff!" he began, "I am Professor Bagshot. You may have seen me at the staff table this morning, when your headmistress was kind enough to introduce me. This, here is Professor Binns." he gestured at the bored ghost. "As you can see, Professor Abrams has taken retirment. I, along with Professor Binns, will be your History of Magic professor for this year. I actually work as a magic historian for the Ministrey, but I was sent here to teach the new coarse material. Any questions?"

Everybody in the room seemed to glance at Binns, tempted to ask about his ghost form, but he met them with a chilled stare to scare them off. A Hufflepuff boy slowly raised his hand.

"Will every year be learning this new stuff?" he asked, and Bagshot nodded excitedly. "Is it only History of Magic material?"

"Actually, no." Bagshot replyed, "It will also be covered in Defense Against the Dark Arts." There was a small murmur of question. Rose was definently suprised. What were they about to learn about?

Victorie's hand went up next. "Are you, by any chance, related to Bathilda Bagshot, author of _A History of Magic_?"

"Why, yes." Bagshot said, "She was my grandmother."

"What's the new material covering, anyway?" Every head turned to look at Scorpius, who was evidently surprised at his own words. Bagshot eagerly clapped his hands.

"Yes, Mr. Malfoy, I was just getting to that. I am very pleased to announce that this year, we will be covering the Second Rise of Voldemort, and, of coarse, the Battle at Hogwarts. We've also hired stonesmiths to commemorate the battle, so be expecting some new monuments around the grounds." With that, everyone began talking in an excited rush. Victorie began to bounce up and down, even. Rose looked around the room, and everyone's face was lit with anticipation. She turned to Albus, who was the only other confused person in the room.

"What's a Voldemort?" Rose asked curiously. Albus shrugged.

"I leave you with that!" Bagshot shouted over the talking, "You are dismissed!"

Rose walked out with Mallory, who countinued to talk wildly. _Voldemort. _She was sure she'd heard that word before. From her dad, when he'd been talking to uncle Harry after work. _Voldemort. _He'd said it with a worried tone, looking over his shoulder as he did so. _Voldemort Voldemort Voldemort. _Where...?

"Rose! Come back to us!" Victorie snapped her fingers in front of her face. Rose jumped back in surprise.

"Don't _do _that, Victorie! It gets me every time..."

"C'mon Rose, you can't pretend like you haven't been preoccupied lately. I understand, it being the first week of term and all, but seriously," Victorie stopped and crossed her arms, blocking Rose's path. "What's wrong?"

Rose hesitated. "What's a Voldemort? I feel like I've heard that word before." Victorie stared, even as she started walking again. She shook her head.

"You've never heard of Voldemort? _You?_"

"No," Rose was taken aback, "Should I have?"

"With a family like yours, yes!" Victorie's hands flew to her mouth the moment she'd said it. Rose snapped into full reality, alert at once.

"My _family? _What do they have to do with _anything?_" she asked violently, "I have a perfectly normal family, thank you very much!" Victorie just stared, giving her a very odd look before pulling away.

"Nevermind, Rose. You'll find out who he is soon enough."

Rose walked through the courtyard alongside Albus, staring at her feet. They were going to see Hagrid for tea. Lily and Hugo should've come too, but Lily had gotten a headache at the last minute and Hugo needed to do his homework. So it was just the two of them, like it had been when they were younger. Rose was, again, preoccupied with thoughts. That little conversation with Victorie had made her the tiniest bit quesey. A family like hers...

"What's so speacial about our family?" Rose blurted it out before she could stop herself. Albus shot her a questioning look as they approached the little hut where Hagrid lived. Before Albus could say anything in reply, Hagrid opened the door, as cheery as ever.

"I was beginnin' ter think you weren' comin'!" He smiled, showing them in. There sat the little table, tea and rock cakes set out as always. Albus explained the situation, why there was only two of them here, and struck up a chat about dragons with Hagrid. Rose nibbled on her rock cake, afraid to bite into it. Every so often, Albus shot her another questioning look. Hagrid eventually followed his gaze.

"You've been awefully quiet, Rose," Hagrid questioned, "Somefin' on 'ur mind?" Rose looked up from her rock cake, not sure of how to approach the subject.

"Hagrid," she began hesitantly, "What's a Voldemort?" Albus looked suddenly curious at the mention of the subject.

Hagrid was certainly caught off guard. "What's 'ur buisness with 'im?" Albus glanced at Rose before answering.

"Professor Bagshot, the new History of Magic professor, mentioned him this morning," Rose silently thanked him for talking, "Said we'd be learning about him and some battle that happened here. People seemed excited."

Hagrid's face hardened as he looked from Rose to Albus. "Not a big deal, I'm sure. You don' need ter know."

"Not a big deal? Hagrid, they've hired stonesmiths. There will be monuments! How can something worthy of monuments be unimportant?" Albus became serious as well. Hagrid became worried.

"It's, uh, gettin' late. You best be off ter bed." He hurridly shooed them out. Rose was very confused. She still hadn't gotten an answer. What, or apparently who, was Voldemort? Why stonesmiths? What did this have anything to do with her family? Nothing made any sense.

_Oof._

Rose was suddenly lying on the ground. She looked around, not knowing where she was, not seeing Albus anywhere. She felt as if all of her strength had drained from her. She didn't even have the energy to get up. Was this a curse, or just bad luck?

Her foot was caught in something, and she looked up to see various tools, a marker for a monument, and a sketch. These things undoubtedly belonged to a careless stonesmith. She squinted, trying to read the plaque in the dimming light.

_"This statue is dedicated to Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger. The wizarding world owes their lives to them."_

Those names, she knew. She looked at the sketch, which had floated towards her in the breeze. It showed three people, to men and a lady, who were very young, probably seventeen. They had their arms around each other, and they looked as if they were laughing. Through the age difference, she reconginzed them immidiently. Those were her parents, and her uncle Harry. _The wizarding world owes their lives to them._

A dark figure approached slowly from the trees. Rose screamed, but even so, felt herself drift into sleep.

Chapter 7: Another Explanation

The world was a blur. White blurs ran around, in and out of her line of vision. She blinked, trying to get a grip on reality. As far as she could tell, she was in the hospital wing. But why?

The memories suddenly flew back like a punch towards the gut. Rose jolted up in realization, only to be hit with a restrainment charm. She flew back and hit her bed, hard. Through all of the commotion she'd caused, only one blur, a black one, seemed to notice. As it got closer, it's identity became clear. It was Scorpius, his black robes standing out from all of the rest of the white-robed nurses. Rose excitedly opened her mouth, but Scorpius held a finger to his lips.

"You've been out for over a week," he whispered, "You've missed a lot." Rose raised her eyebrows. A week? It didn't feel like a whole week.

"What's happening?" she asked, gesturing at the crowded area with her head. The hospital wing was definently busier than usual.

Scorpius looked grim. "It's Lily Potter. She's terribly ill," he said. Rose gasped and looked at the bed again. That headache she'd had - or had it been a headache at all? - had certainly gotten worse if she needed this much attention.

"Why're you here, then?" Rose wondered aloud. Scorpius paused before answering.

"I've been checking on you both for Albus, he's been worried sick. He would've done it himself, but he's been doing your homework," Rose half smiled at that. Al knew that she didn't like to miss class. Just like her mum, as her dad always said.

"Scor," she started, quietly, "What's... my problem?"

Scorpius looked down at the floor. "Well, you hit your head badly when you fell. And I think someone may've cursed you, by the looks of it. Albus found you on the ground looking oddly battered." he paused, leaning in closer. "I'll bring by the book later, so your uncle doesn't see." With that, he left. The world had finally focused enough so that Rose could see her uncle Harry leaning against the wall opposite her. When he saw her, Harry slowly walked over to her bed.

"How is she?" Rose asked, greeting aside.

"She's better, but they're not exactly sure what came over her. Not unlike your situation," he paused, looking back at the doors Scorpius had just disappeared into. "I'm sorry, Rose. If I'm correct, then what's happened is my fault. I never meant for you to be dragged into this. I thought it was over. Long over." Rose opened her mouth to ask what "it" was, but she interrupted with the sound of opening doors. Her parents were here.

Hermione hurried over and gave Rose a huge hug.

"Mum, " Rose groaned, but hugged her back all the same. Her dad came over to ruffle her bright red hair. She looked up at him, and she realized that he didn't look that different from the sketch of him at seventeen.

"You guys have a lot of explaining to do, you know," she said, pulling away from the hug, "Why does the wizarding world owe you their lives? What you said on my birthday, as well. That wasn't all true." Her parents exchanged a worried glance before her father spoke.

"A very long time ago, there was a man called Tom Riddle. His mother was the only living desendant of Salizar Slytherin. She died giving birth to him, so he spent the first eleven years of his life in an orphanage. From the start, he wasn't kind to the other children. He never made friends with anyone but the Hogwarts professors. They saw right through his unkindlyness and thought he was brillient. His Hogwarts letter was even hand-delivered by Albus Dumbledore, the Transfiguration professor at the time. Once he left Hogwarts, people expected him to do great things, maybe even become the Minister of magic.

"But, as I've said, people saw right through the evil in him. In his fifth year, he raised a basalisk and killed a girl, but he wasn't even considered when it came time to assign blame. The fault went to an innocent third year, and his name wasn't cleared until _our_ third year. But, uh, more of that later.

"Riddle ended up becoming one of the greatest villians ever known to our world. He called himself Lord Voldemort, and his followers were called Death Eaters. He killed uncountable numbers of people, including his own muggle father. Everyone he met died, with the exception of one person.

"One Halloween, Riddle traveled to a village called Godric's Hallow. He knew of a prophecy, one that stated that he must kill a boy born at the end of July. It gave a number of other requirements, and in the end it matched one person. That person was a boy by the name of Harry Potter."

Rose gasped. "Uncle Harry?" The trio nodded in unison as Ron countinued.

"Riddle killed James Potter, but he gave Lily Potter a chance. He said that if she were to stand aside, and let him kill her son, she would be spared. But Lily refused to let her only son die, so Riddle killed her, as well. But Lily Potter hadn't truly died. Her love and sacrifice cast a protective charm around Harry, and when Riddle tried to curse him, Riddle, died. Well, not really, but... Nevermind. You'll understand later. When Riddle cursed Harry, he died and Harry was left with a scar on his forehead. The scar was shaped like a bolt of lightning.

"He grew up with some very stuck-up, self-absorbed muggles," they laughed, "But I hadn't met him until we were on the Hogwarts Express. We met your mother there, too, but we weren't really friends until we battled that mountain troll, and we were killed by a three-headed dog called Fluffy." he sighed. "Those were some good times." There was a silence.

"So?" Rose pried, "What happened? I'm listening," The trio smiled. After sharing a look, they tumbled over each others words telling the stories. Oh, the stories. Rose marveled as they described how her father had won a life sized game of wizards chess, and how her mother had been petrified by a basalisk. One was about a secret passageway under a tree that led to a werewolf's lare, and another about how Harry had participated in the Triwizard Tournament. But, after that one, the laughing slowly died down.

"The night of the final task," uncle Harry said, "Me and the other Hogwarts champion decided to take the cup together, since we'd saved each other. But someone, who I later found out was a Death Eater enchanted to look like an Auror, had made the cup a Portkey. We were taken to a graveyard, and," he paused, "the other champion was killed. Riddle was there, with the rat man, Pettigrew, and... I'm not giving details. There was a rebirth. He tried to kill me, but I ran and reached the Portkey in time to live. I told everyone he was back, but barely anyone belived me until the end of the next year,"

"When he started having visions," Ron added, and they told the rest of the stories. The battle in the Ministry, where everyone realized that Harry was telling the truth, came next. The next one, when the trio discovered Riddle's secret, came with a descrption of the death of Albus Dumbledore that left Hermione speechless. But the last one was the most intense. It included clones of Harry, a wedding, a runaway, and many break-ins that chilled Rose until the last word. Even then, she waited for more.

"Uncle Harry," she pleaded, "I know that isn't all,"

"You're right," Hermione said, "But we need to save some things for you to learn in school. You'll know the complete story by the end of the year, I promise."

Rose almost pouted, but her expression was overwhelmed with fear and surprise. Scorpius was standing behind her parents and uncle, with the book, looking rather shaken. Rose tried to cover her expression, but she was too late: Scorpius had become the center of attention.

"Rose, I..." he studdered, looking for the right words. He nervously tried to hide the book behind his back, but her father lunged for it.

"What've you got here, Malfoy?" her father asked Scorpius harshly. He flipped the book open to a random page and goggled.

"Give me my book!" Scorpius yelled, but Harry wheeled on him.

"No, you can not have your bloody book, Malfoy. Just who do you think you are? The arrogent, unkind, unthankful _git_ your father is? Manipulating my niece and my son? I've just about had it! _Stay away from my family!_"

Scorpius looked at Rose. She knew his parents had done bad things, that they were darker wizards. But the realization was sinking in; his father had been in her parent's story. He'd killed people. Rose thought of the looks that crossed Scorpius' face when he was upset or angry, and a horrible thought came to her: _was he no different?_

Rose knew what she had to do. She knew she was to stay away from dark wizards, especially since hearing the story.

"Leave, Scorpius," she muttered, and sadly watched the betrayal reach his face as he ran out the door.

Chapter 8: The Second Chance

3 months later, Rose and Victorie sat in Potions, talking excitedly.

"Lily's been released from the Hospital wing this morning, she's so excited to be back in class!" Rose exclaimed. Victorie hadn't been at breakfast to see Lily, she'd been with her father.

"That's wonderful, Rose," Victorie smiled brightly, "So they've figured out what was wrong with her?"

"Actually, they've no idea what was wrong with her." Rose said, slowing down as the professor began to start the class.

"Most mysterious," Victorie said. Rose felt a pang of guilt, thinking of Scorpius.

"The most peculiar thing, though, is that she can't..."

"Weasley! Lovegood!" They're heads snapped up to see Professor Jennings staring them down. "I will not tolerate this excessive talking an instant longer! Five points from Gryffindor! Lovegood, switch places with Malfoy!" Rose stiffened as Victorie walked off. She was supposed to stay _away _from Malfoy, her parents would find out in an instant...

"Weasley, could you pass me the truff of nuf?" Scorpius didn't dare speak louder than a whisper. Still, it hurt Rose even further to hear him call her 'Weasley'. She looked at him, trying to stay emotionless in the face.

"Fine then, what're we brewing?" she looked down as she handed him the truff.

"Love potion," he replied stiffly, the pain in his voice clear and audible. Rose cringed.

"I'll chop the bee's knees," she offered quietly. The tension was almost palpable. She thought about when they had been friends, and a feeling of longing stirred up inside her, capped by the reason she'd ended it. She couldn't bring herself to rid the thoughts of Scorpius _killing _from her mind. It didn't seem at all like him, but...

"I'm nothing like him, you know," it took a few long moments before Rose realized it was him talking. There was a strange edge to his voice, but she couldn't quite identify it.

"Who, Professor Jennings? You don't have to be, love potions aren't so difficult once you..."

"No, my father," Scorpius said, slowly skinning a small herb. "I heard the little story your family told, though I'd known beforehand. His name, along with my grandparents, are stamped into every book. They were enemies, but your parents saved him during that battle. Even so, the last encounter of that four wasn't that." Rose raised her eyebrows, still staring at the floor. "I don't know the bloody details, just that they fought, and, uh, your parents won. I think my dad may've taken something, though. I... I don't know. My point is that my dad was indeed dark, even a murderer. Your scared of me, Rose. But I'm nothing like him." Rose finally looked up at him.

"I wish I could believe you," she said, her voice breaking the slightest.

"You do," he said, the edge still unidentifiable. "Your scared of your family. I wouldn't like it if _my _kid were friends with my mortal enemy's child, but rules are made to be defyed."

"They found us last time,"

"But we can be _foolproof_ this time." Their gazes met in the fleeting moment of debate.

"You're sure?" Rose asked as they both broke into smile. The answer was clear.

"We need to carry on the act of pure hatred, first off," Scorpius whispered, "So stop smiling." Rose turned her expression off. Even so, her happiness had shot to the moon. She had her friend back.

She knew she was taking a chance, but Rose sat in the empty classroom anyway. She was waiting for Scorpius, he'd said he'd meet her to talk over their battle plan.

And there he was. Rose ran over to collect him into a hug.

"I just so _glad_ we're friends again," she said. Scorpius pulled away, the mysterioius edge now showing in his face.

"The first step is to restore our full honesty with each other," he said slowly, "And I've got something to get off my chest," Rose raised her eyebrow in silent question, but suddenly she knew.

She forgot her restraint, and the cap flew off.

Chapter 9: The Start of Something New

"Rose," Victorie exclaimed, "It's almost curfew. Where have you been?"

Rose shook her head. She waited until the common room was empty before pulling Victorie aside.

"You need to swear on your life that you won't tell anyone what I'm about to tell you. _Especially not Albus._"

"Ok, ok, I swear on behalf of the Nargels," Victorie spluttered, "Just tell me!"

Rose sighed. "Since the beginning of our fourth year, I... have been friends with Scorpius..."

"_Malfoy?_" Victorie whispered rather loudly, and Rose had to cover her mouth.

"What, you've _kissed_ Teddy Lupin _in your first year._"

Victorie ripped Rose's hand from her mouth. _"On a dare!"_

"_Silencio. _Yes, him. But, when I was sick, my parents found out and convinced me to dislike him. They said he was dark, violent. But, this morning, we made up. I was in an empty classroom just now, and..." Rose blushed, looking at the floor, "He, uh, kissed me."

By the looks of it, Victorie was screaming.

Keeping not only a friendship, but a love under wraps was harder than even Rose expected. Her regular chats with Albus became very cautious things, visits with Hagrid were rather frightening, and classes were the worst of all. She really did love Scorpius, but to have almost no connection or interaction with him was beginning to drive her slowly insane.

One particular conversation with Albus had left her with the chills.

He'd began it regularly, but then started getting serious:

"How's Victorie? D'ya reckon she'd, I don't know, fancy me?"

Rose scowled. "You're a terrible liar, Al. What do you _really_ want?"

"You've seemed down, or just on edge. I was trying to see if you fancied anyone..."

"No!" Rose said it too quickly, and ran off in terror. She confided about this with Scorpius, he'd just suggested to "take a breather," in which Rose had gone into rant about how her family was too large. Scorpius shut her up with a small kiss.

It was near the end of term, O. W. L.s approaching, along with the summer holidays just behind them. The two had survived summer's before, but letters didn't seem an option. Neither knew what to do, but they settled on living in the present and waiting until the time had come to address that issue. So, naturally, Rose was stressed.

She'd stayed up all night studying for the past week, trying to enchant tea cups to dance or turn her fingernails blue. Victorie called her crazy, but she knew that some study sessions included Scorpius. But as the exams were only days away, even she was anxious.

Every fifth year knew the schedule backwards by now: the O.W.L.s would last four days, and on the fifth day would be the end of term banquet. That meant that they would be going home for the holidays the next morning. The Scorpius-free holidays.

_ 5 days left of term: _Care of Magical Creatures and Astronemy. C. M. C. exams were only written and took place inside. Rose nervously looked at Hagrid once and a while, though he could give her no answers or words of encouragment besides a thumbs up. The anti-cheating charmed quills felt stiff in Rose's hands. Albus sent her worried glances. The Astronemy exams went until three in the morning, and Victorie fussed about her inability to find Neptune's moon.

_ 4 days left of term: _Herbology and Transfiguration. Rose worried that her teacup wasn't wearing the correct tap shoes. The scratch of quills had permanently installed into her brain. Herbology's hands-on exam took place in the largest greenhouse. Victorie tried to get the answers out of her dad. Scorpius confided in her that he didn't know the difference between a Gravyroot and a Gurdyroot.

_ 3 days left of term: _Potions and Charms. Professor Jennings breathed down her neck the entire time. Her hands tingled when she sat next to Scorpius. Albus spilled his potion on Alfred Algie's foot. The dungeons ended up smelling like failure. Charms's written exam was two and a half rolls of parchment. Rose worried her bubblehead charm's bubble wasn't large enough.

_ 2 days left of term: _The last day. History of Magic and Defense Against the Dark Arts. Her family's stories haunted her as she wrote exactly which Weasley died in battle, and named all seven Horcruxes. Other Ministery people sat in and watched, and Rose could've sworn she'd seen her uncle. She surprised herself by making her first full body patronus that lasted more than five seconds. It was a lioness. She blushed when Scorpius confessed that his was a lion. She bit her lip when she preformed the spell that saved her the lives of her whole family, _Expecto Patronem._

_ The last day of term: _The festivities carried them all throughout the day. The banquet tasted exquist, unlike any other. Gryffindor won the house cup (Lily later confessed that the nurses had awarded her many points for coping with her unknown decease.) The Gryffindors partyed the night away, especially the fifth and seventh years, having completed their O. W. L.s and N. E. W. T.s. Though the commonroom was packed, it was impossible to slip away. Something nagged at Rose's mind throughout the night, and it wasn't until she entered her dormentary that it occured to her.

Sitting on her bed was a folded note. It was addressed to her in a flowing handwritting that could only be Scorpius's. She barely had time to consider going downstairs to bid him goodnight before reading the shocking note.

_Rose,_

_I'm so sorry. You're going to hate me forever, but I couldn't live with myself not telling you. I don't expect you to forgive me, but I would first like to remind you that I will love you forever. I'm so sorry._

_I have an older sister, whose in her seventh year now. Her name is Ariana, and she's a Slytherin. She's pure evil, worse than my mother. I may've mentioned her to you before, maybe not by name. I've never kept anything from you, so I must've said something._

_Well, that was a lie. I have kept something from you, and I'm about to tell you now. I'm so sorry, Rose. Ariana, like I said, is evil. She found one of our letters from this past summer. I don't know how, I kept them locked up and hidden brilliently. But she's a great witch, though not as good as you, but great. She found that one you wrote the day before your birthday, the one about our friendship and your parents. She found out everything. She threatened to tell my mum on me. I'm so sorry. You know the trouble I was, am, in already. I couldn't have mum knowing. So I pleaded and begged Ariana to keep her mouth shut. She finally came up with an evil, diabolic, sick plan. She had me swear to do any favor she wanted me to do, just one, at any time. On Unbreakable Vow. We were bound, you know the consequences. She promised not to say anything to anyone if I were to do her named favor. Or death._

_In the beginning of term, she found me during lunch, and she took me for a walk. She had a horrible plan made up, and it was her favor. I'm so sorry, Rose, you must believe me._

_The favor was simple: me and her were to curse Lily Potter. But she cursed you along the way._

Chapter 10: The Confrontation

_"Attention students: We will arrive at King's Cross in 5 minutes time."_

Rose reread the letter over and over in her mind. She was in a compartment with Lily, Albus, Hugo, and Victorie. She hadn't seen Scorpius since the banquet. He'd even looked troubled there.

Through the anger and shock and pain she'd originally felt, she'd immidiently come to two conclusions:

1. Tell absolutely no one.

2. Forgive Scorpius.

Through the letter, he'd apologized. But he'd explained. It was that or death, and he'd known he'd loose Rose either way. He'd just tried to keep them both out of trouble and keep them together longer. He hadn't known that Rose would be cursed, or that Ariana had set it up so that Rose's family would find out anyway. He hadn't known any of that. And he still expected Rose to hate him. But Rose couldn't.

She loved him more than she'd thought was capable, even for a witch, even when she invisioned her adventures on that very first train ride to Hogwarts. She needed him to know that.

And he would in approximently five minutes time.

It all happened so fast, Rose could barely process it.

She'd feld from the compartment, leaving her things with her family and friend. She needed to find him. She needed to find him.

She'd run through the whole train. He must've left the train very quickly. She jumped out of the trian into the sea of people. There was no way she could find him in this. No, there must be.

She vaguely heard her family calling her, running after her, weighted down by their trunks and owls. She furiously flipped her head in every direction until she spotted him. He walked alone.

She ran. She didn't care that her family was watching. She called his name, desperately. He turned around just in time to meet her. She ran full speed into him, almost knocking him over, but he was too strong. Their lips met instantly. Scorpius was so surprised he had to pull away for words only after recovering from speechlessness.

"You forgive me?" it was only a whisper, but clear to Rose.

"Always," Rose said, and happily pulled him back into a kiss. She wasn't aware of her whole family yelling at her, clearly noticing her at last. She wasn't aware of Scorpius's family, his sister angerily surprised, his mother speechless, and his father, who she'd heard so many negative things about, actually smiling.

She wasn't aware of anything except for him. Together at last.

Epilogue

Rose waited at the gates of her house one summer evening. Her mum and aunt Ginny were preparing dinner, Lily and Hugo were playing, and Albus was sitting with her father and his father, talking nervously. But Rose could care less.

She looked up into the clear, starry night, remembering that day as if it were yesterday. She'd been so careless, running in the open, yelling his _name. _Though it meant she'd gotten him back, it caused quite a bit of commotion and trouble. Though she'd been seeing the world through chopped up frames, she remembered. Hugo, of all people, had caught up first, seen her first. He'd been taken aback and surprised, and managed to find their parents. Her dad's face had become redder than his hair, and he'd began to yell along with uncle Harry. Her mum had stood speechless.

If that weren't enough, the Malfoy's had been standing _right there. _His sister, Ariana, had stood in an angry but speechless way, not expecting her horrible plan to end like it did. His father had actually looked pleased, a lot nicer than her parents had described him. His mother, on the other hand, was another story.

They'd had to pull away from their kiss because of the commotion, but Rose had held firmly to his hand. His mother had prominently slapped him across the face, yelling about how he'd "_betrayed your bloodline!" _and he had snogged "A _Weasley! _The daughter of a blood traitor and a _mudblood_!" This whole time, Rose could tell he'd been trying not to cry, obviously shaken by the blow. Rose could barely contain herself, hearing the things she was being called. Her own father and uncle were yelling at her - along with yelling at Mrs. Malfoy, who'd been calling _them _names. But through all that, something miraculous happened.

His father had began to yell, as well. But not at Rose, Scorpius, or Ron: at his wife.

"Phileta!" It came from no where, like the first thunder in a storm. "That is no way to talk to a boy, especially _our son! _There is no reason to hit a child! I've had it!" He stalked off, but then turned around. "Come, Scorpius, Rose," he'd added, and the two had run to him without even thinking. He'd then turned on Rose's family.

"Look, it's no secret that we all hate each other, but is that really a reason to stop love?"

"Yes," she'd heard her father say, but she hadn't thought anything of it.

"I know you've told Rose some horrible things about me, I'm certain, and I know they're all true. But finally seeing the horrendous way that I've treated my son has changed me. And now I get to see him happy; can't you see that your daughter is happy?" Scorpius looked shocked at his father's gracious words, but Ron wasn't.

"Rose, come. Now." He'd said through gritted teeth.

"No," Rose didn't know where she had found the words. "No, Dad. I don't care what you say. I love Scorpius. You can't change that. If you don't accept, why should I come?"

"Stop it!" Hermione finally spoke. "Everyone, just stop! Ron, you are always so touchy with these things! Remember how mad you were when Harry began dating Ginny? They ended up married! You can't just stop love!" she turned to Mr. Malfoy. "Draco, you're right, we've never liked each other. But we shouldn't just stop these kids from being friends, or more. Rose, if you come home, I'll allow it. As much as I don't like what I'm doing, I'll allow it." she then turned to Scorpius. "Don't make me regret this," she warned. Scorpius vigorously shook his head.

"Thank you so much, Mrs. Weasley," he'd said, squeezing Rose's hand.

And through all that, they'd made it. Even the families had survived (although Draco and Phileta had gotten a wizards divorce, Draco taking custody of Scorpius and Phileta of Ariana).

A smile made it's way onto Rose's face as a figure on a broomstick found it's way into her vision. Scorpius slowly made his way to the ground, waving to Rose as he approached. She happily opened the gate for him.

"I suppose you found your way alright?" she asked, pecking him on the cheek. He looked at his feet.

"I did, thanks for the directions. I was almost lost at one point, but I figured if you've been going back and forth all summer, then it must be manageable." he paused, "Are you sure you still want me...?"

"Of coarse!" Rose said, almost too quickly. "It's just my family, they'll warm up to you soon enough. Your dad warmed up to me," she pointed out.

"Yes, but he wasn't completly against it when he found out, like _your _dad..."

"Oh, relax, you'll be fine," she was so far succeeding in hiding her terror of her family.

Scorpius smiled. "Oh, well." he took her hand and began walking.

"Happy birthday, then, Rose."

And it was, indeed, happy.

The End


End file.
